A product that’s too good? Can this even be possible? And if so, what the hell are you talking about woman?

Well, I’m talking about the new Benefit They’re Real Push-Up Liner. You know, that one everyone and his eyeliner-wearing dog is talking about. Or at least, they were… before we all moved on to the next latest release. Us bloggers, we be so fickle.

So, what’s so right with it? And more importantly, why is this a bad thing?

The new Benefit They’re Real Push-Up Eyeliner – usual twee Benefit marketing aside – is actually one of those genuinely innovative releases that we all crave. It’s something that I’ve never seen done before, a truly delightful way of dispensing product that delivers on both the novelty-factor and the this-is-actually-quite-good factor.

Let me tell you about the technicalities of the eyeliner, in my own completely untechnical way.

You see that tip? That nib up there? It’s a rubberized doo-dah with a small opening through which oozes gel eyeliner when you twist the bottom of the pen mechanism. The gel it dispenses is the kind that you usually get in a pot. As for the mechanism, it doesn’t shoot out in an unusable stream of fast-moving black lava, it actually dispenses pretty slowly, playing nicely and stopping dead when you quit twisting the base of the pen. That in itself is miraculous and something that most similar products have failed to achieve.

Sadly, any product remaining in or on the nib dries out pretty quickly once it’s left the airtight chamber. Benefit have tried to counteract this by providing an odd little “plug” that you keep in the opening when the pen isn’t in use. Sadly, for me, this idea falls short… replacing and removing the plug is the quickest way I’ve found to get your hands covered in smears of product. I’ll talk more about that later…

Let’s talk about the formula first.

It’s inky and it’s very black, just as you’d hope. As far as eyeliners go, this one has a pretty dry consistency… delivering a solid pigment with hardly any feathering or creep from a too-wet formula. You’d expect this from any gel eyeliner, and this is a good one.

The downside to this precision is that, as with most drier textures, it has a tendency to flake. Especially if you dare “go over” your drawn line once too often. This is frustrating, especially for someone who isn’t naturally gifted at drawing impeccable edges the first time round. I usually need to do the whole “thicken the line to neaten it” thing after the first application.

The upside is that when you get it right (the first or at a push, the second time), you’ll be rewarded with the darkest, matte-est, most gloriously lined eyes you could ever wish for. Particularly if you’re wanting to throw a cheeky eye-flick into the mix. The applicator nib positively excels at painting the product onto the skin. It’s a joy to use. An absolute bloody joy.

So, what the hell is wrong with it?!

Well, I can’t remove the damn stuff without a pan-scourer and half a litre of sugar soap.

The Benefit They’re Real Push-Up Liner, is infact, so stubborn that Benefit had to release a specially-formulated eye makeup remover to go with. My regular cleansing methods just don’t cut the mustard. I can usually tackle most waterproof formulas with something in my makeup-removing arsenal, but this one eludes me. Perhaps because I don’t own any bi-phase products, I’ve read that they can help do the job… but my skin doesn’t tolerate them especially well.

This is all fine and dandy if you don’t mind spending £14.50 for 50ml of Benefit’s makeup remover but frankly, I do.

Our lashes are longggggg, with many a curly end. That leads us to who, knows what… what to use…

We want hold! Long enough to last the day.

We don’t want heavy… just natural muh-scar-ruhhhhhhhhhhhhhs.

Brownie points if you recognise the song I couldn’t stop myself from butchering. I’m sorry.

Clinique Lash Power Feathering Mascara is a relatively new release, having launched only a few months ago. It promises a softer, more natural look without compromising on hold and an overall fluttery effect.

The key thing to remember with this mascara is that it places a lot of stock in being a buildable product with a formula geared toward the application of more than one coat. Of course, if you really only want a touch of darkness and gloss added to your lashes, by all means… stop after a single coat.

If, however, you want a little more va-va-voom, you will need to apply a couple of additional coats to get the finish you require.

The wand delivers a fine application of product, well-distributed almong the fluttery bristles which really comb-through the lashes as you sweep the brush from root to tip. The formula never clumps and neither does it leave behind blobs of product at the tips, regardless of whether you’re on your first or third coat. Longevity is good and I don’t suffer from flakes or smudges as the day progresses.

Ultimately, whilst I recognise and admire the strengths of this latest “natural” mascara from Clinique, I don’t really like it.

The tube contains only 5.5ml of product, a few ml less than Clinique’s other offerings while retailing at a few ££s more. I’m quite happy with the finished result – as shown above – but to achieve this, I need to apply 3-coats. That could get expensive, quickly.

Who hasn’t dreamed of creating some makeups of their very own? Leila and I sometimes spend an afternoon making lipglosses together from vaseline and food dye. When we’re not doing that, we’re mixing up nail polishes to create some vile frankenpolish, inevitably throwing half a ton of glitter into the mix… just to make sure that it’s completely unwearable. But boy, it sure is pretty to look at!

Last year, GOSH gave two customers the chance to create their own cosmetics in a competition held over on the brand’s instagram feed. The two winners were delighted with the opportunity, and who can blame them? One got to create a lipstick colour, the other… a nail polish shade.

Danielle Graves from Leeds, the nail polish creator, took colour inspiration from one of her son’s toys and transformed the eventual shade into a pretty blue with a subtle shimmer. Danielle said:

“I was so shocked when I won, I love GOSH and I love Superdrug so to be able to create a make-up colour with them is incredible. I’m so happy. It’s great to think that other people liked the colour I picked enough to vote for it, my son loves Monsters Inc. and the picture I submitted is actually a close up of the fur on his favourite teddy bear. It just screamed summer and bright and wow to me but at the same time reminds me of my little boy.”

It is indeed, a very pretty shade. The flecks of shimmer give the polish the effect of sunlight on water, like a glistening tropical ocean. Very summery indeed! The formula on the shade is good, with two coats delivering adequate coverage and I had no issues with application or a shorter-than-average wear time.

Danielle’s nail polish is priced at £3.99 and is available instore at Superdrug

* press sample

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…but you can roll it in glitter. Beautiful, beautiful, glittery glitter.

I know I’m too old for this, I mean seriously. When your 5-year old daughter is so massively into your press sample, it’s time to retire your own love for the shiny stuff. At least in public.

Or is it?

The rather brilliant thing about Urban Decay’sHeavy Metal Loose Glitter release isn’t really the glitter at all. No, indeed… it’s actually the far less obvious Bondage Weightless Make up Adhesive that was released alongside the it!

Unfortunately, that also appears to have been a limited edition product and I can’t find it on the Debenhams website anymore. Damn you Urban Decay, don’t you dare go the way of MAC with your blink-and-you’ll-miss-it collections.

The Heavy Metal Loose Glitter is of the particularly chunky variety. More like the kind of glitter you’d find in your nail polish than in your eyeshadow drawer. They’re available in six shades: Catfight, Pyrotechnics, Loaded, ACDC, Goldmine, and Reverb. Pyrotechnics, the opalescent white, is actually lovelier than I would have dared imagine.

The sifter containers are just plain annoying but I truly doubt that there is any convenient and fuss-free way to store and dispense glitter. Whomever comes up with one will surely also rule the world.

But as I mentioned, it’s the adhesive that really won me over. It holds the glitter tight and resists water effectively. I’ve since used the adhesive on my stash of slightly-less-glittery loose eyeshadows and it works very well in a Pixie Epoxy way. It’s somewhat overkill to use this as an eye primer but I can’t deny that it does a good job.

When it comes to application, it’s best to work both of these products onto the skin in thin layers. I’ve been stroking the adhesive onto the skin before patting gently with a finger to spread and refine the initial sweep of product. The glitter is best applied with a finger, there’s no denying that it’s a messy affair but I guess that if you’re into making-up with glitter, this won’t come as a huge shock!

Im not the biggest fan of using chunky glitter like this… I really can’t see how I could fit it in to a “look” without looking like an aging raver, but if you’re wanting something to turn heads during festival season, perhaps you could be persuaded?!

The Urban Decay Heavy Metal Loose Glitters and Bondage Weightless Makeup Adhesive are available to buy online from UrbanDecay.com, priced at $12.00 & $14.00 respecitvely. If they ever come back into stock on Debenhams.com, they’re available for £10-a-piece.

* press sample

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Do you ever make snap judgements about products only to be proven very, very wrong? I don’t mind admitting that I do… and in this case, I got one hell of a shock when the product put me firmly in my place.

The RMK W Crayon & Gloss Lips is a new release from the Japanese beauty brand and features a duo crayon/gloss system designed to impart big colour and shine. When it comes to lips, I don’t tend to expect much in the way of pigment from Asian brands… my past purchases have taught me that it’s all about the sheer juiciness and moisturising formulas.

Generalising much, I know… but this is just what I have come to expect.

ignore the foundation, that’s coming in a later review!

The crayon end of the wand did two things to surprise me.

First of all, it dragged… it dragged across my lips like a dog not wanting to be taken for a walk. It feels hard, a little waxy and not what I was expecting. To be fair, this did mean that I could achieve a great, sharp line around the edge of my lips but I wasn’t impressed.

The firm texture meant that it took a fair amount of “colouring in” before my entire lip area had been filled and I couldn’t smoosh my lips together to spread the pigment, the formula just wasn’t creamy enough. This does mean that it is however, extremely long-lasting.

The second surprise came from the amount of pigment the crayon imparted. We’re talking serious colour. Bold, opaque and a little startling. In other words, fabulous.

So there I am… crayon on, thoughts a little jumbled at this point.

Ahh, the gloss end of the equation. I hate gloss. You know I hate gloss, we all know that yes… Lip”gloss”iping hates gloss.

Prior to actually trying the W Crayon & Gloss Lips out in person, I did toy with the idea that I’d probably just wear the crayon alone… but once it’s applied, it needs something more. It just looks unfinished with the crayon worn alone on the lips.

And so I dived into the gloss section of the tube, pulling out the silicone spatula-esque applicator and layering a coat of the glitter-filled semi-transparent gloop across my lips.

“Oh!”

“It looks nice!”

“Really nice!”

The truth is that I just didn’t expect it to look like the perfect combination between pigmented AND juicy. It didn’t expect it to plump and fill my lips to the point where I found it tricky to resist snogging myself in the mirror.

The gloss is completely non-sticky (trust me, I’m a massive fusspot) and refreshingly light on the lips. It doesn’t try to migrate or pool unattractively, waiting for me to open my mouth and share strings of globby gloss with the world. It just sits gently across the surface, sparkling away and making the crayon underneath feel far more comfortable than it did prior to the partnership.

Transfer is a bitch, so be aware… although my teeth were unaffected, my glass and cup both took a shocking hit. Having said that, there’s so much pigment in the product that the transfer had no impact on how it looked on my lips.

After around 45-minutes, the shine gradually dissipates and it (to my eye) looks even better. It loses the screamy “look at me” shine but retains the juiciness, appearing much like a well-formulated creamy lipstick. Roll forward a couple of hours and you can just start to feel a little dryness creeping through from the crayon. As your lips press together, there’s more texture and at this point, it would be a good idea to give your pout a quick blot with tissue or reapply another layer of gloss.

It’s not completely low-maintenance but for such a bold shade, that undercoat of crayon sticks like you-know-what to the proverbial blanket, making touch-ups with the gloss a lot less hassle than re-lining your lips or dealing with an ugly ring of colour around the lip-line.

Well, there you have it. Massive, big and completely unexpected love from me for this unassuming tube of lip colour.

RMK W Crayon & Gloss Lips in 01 Cherry Red is priced at £22 and available in 5 limited-edition, seasonal shades. You can find them online in the UK from BeautyBay.com, LookFantastic.com and instore at Selfridges!

* press sample

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Employing the talents of young London artists: Calm & Collected, the Jo Malone company have collaborated with the studio to create some one-off, striking visual designs for some of their best-loved fragrances. This #beautyproject is part of a greater store-wide campaign, exclusive to Selfridges in a mission to celebrate all definitions of beauty.

The limited edition screen-printed designs will adorn the bottles of the following five fragrances: Earl Grey & Cucumber, English Pear & Freesia, Lime Basil & Mandarin, Peony & Blush Suedeand Pomegranate Noir. Each design takes inspiration from the ingredients found within, playfully creating a strong and unmistakable graphic impression across the line.

But it’s not just the bottles themselves that have received a makeover. Jo Malone’s iconic black & cream packaging has also undergone a transformation with the added opportunity to personalise your own Jo Malone box!

The creative team behind Calm & Collected will infact be producing these boxes live at the brand’s boutiques in Selfridges London, Birmingham, and Manchester throughout select dates in May. Customers will be able to choose their own box colours and include personalisation. For dates and to choose which event you’d like to attend, head on over to the Jo Malone Facebook page for more information.

The limited edition Calm & Collected bottles are available in 30ml (£41) and 100ml (£82) sizes and will be available exclusively from Selfridges and selfridges.com while stocks last.

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You’d be easily forgiven if you thought that Butter London Marbs had been released alongside one of the brand’s Winter collections… after all, we’re pretty used to seeing golden metallics shine at Christmas. But no, in their usual “sod what the rest of the industry are doing” kinda way, Butter London saw fit to release this golden wonder last Summer and it just about works.

Although obviously a rather brash yellow-gold in hue, there’s a certain amount of bronziness to it that makes you appreciate how well it would work with a sunkissed tan. Something my milk-bottle skin is sadly, unlikely to realise this Summer.

The finish is in fact, startlingly bright with an incredible metallic foil that gives an almost reflective-like quality to the finished product. I’d generally expect anything so full of shine to be unforgiving over nail ridges but this one manages to disguise the various bumps and peels across my nail beds.

Summer, winter… whatever the season, Marbs is probably the best gold polish I own, especially when it comes to delivering a fully opaque finish in a quick and simple two coats.

Butter London Marbs is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online from powderrooms.com

* press sample

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I know it’s old hat and not terribly cool but I can’t help it, I’m still a big fan of mineral foundation. Party like it’s 2006 and all that. You see, the thing is… me and minerals, we shouldn’t get along. On paper, we’re a match made in hell thanks to my permanently dehydrated complexion and amazing ability to develop flakies quicker than I can say B.B. Cream. In theory, I should be reaching for the richer cream fondations,and avoiding powders as though my life depended on it.

Except, that with a little bit of care and some post-application hydration, my skin just adores minerals. Especially in the warmer weather.

I’m going to tell you about the one I’m wearing at the moment. It was on my lust-list for many years and I finally succumbed to the wantsies when I saw Sirvinya had it down in her blog sale list.

Meow Cosmetics are an indie mineral makeup company from the U.S. who have been operating online for many years now and were one of the first I discovered back when I was a regular user of indie brands. Their catalogue of products is so vast, I don’t mind admitting that I find it bewildering. Choosing the correct foundation shade for your skintone is quite a task in itself, admittedly made easier by some great, indepth instructions on the site.

Here’s mine. It’s the Purrfect Puss formulation which is described as a light-medium formulation with buildable coverage. It features the brand’s original matte formula but with enough of a sheen to look fresh rather than dull. The brand boast that their formulation doesn’t need “buffing” in the same way that traditional minerals do… and I find this to be true, a brush-on formula that can be layered nicely without the risk of micro-exfoliating my dry skin and causing further problems.

The shade that I have here is Frisky Chausie. Two words. The first “Frisky” relates to the depth of shade (ultra light to dark) and the second “Chausie” is the undertone. In this case, Frisky = Light and Chausie = Cool Pink. Making a great match for anyone who is a little pinker than a MAC NW15-20, like me.

Super pale girls will be delighted to hear that there are even two shades lighter than “Frisky” in each undertone!

The powder is finely milled, velvet-textured and easy to apply. I tap a little into the lid and give it a swirl with a dome-topped synthetic brush. Although a popular choice for many mineral makeup fans, I rarely use a flat-topped kabuki as I just don’t appreciate the fuller coverage, preferring instead to build it as I go… focusing multiple sweeps around the side of the nose and other places where my redness is more pronounced.

I always finish my mineral foundation application with a spritz of hydrating toner, something like the Balance Me Skin Bright Hydrating Mist. If your skin is less dehydrated than mine, you’ll be fine with a light spritz from a can of Avene water or similar. I just find that this finishing touch ensures that the product melts into the skin and ensures that it doesn’t look remotely “powdery”.

I’ve included a swatch shot and a before/after below so that you can see how great the colour match is for my complexion. If you struggle to find a foundation that matches well with your skintone, you should give this range a try – sample baggie sizes are also available should you need to order a small selection to find your perfect match.

Meow Cosmetics Mineral Foundation in Frisky Chausie is available to buy online in three different sizes with prices ranging from $1 to $23.45

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As much as I admire a pretty metallic nail polish, they can be the devil for revealing flaws across the nail bed. Champers from Butter London is no exception and it rudely broadcast my peeling index nail (on the other hand) to all and sundry.

When a polish leaves you feeling so exposed, it can be hard to muster much love for it but despite this, Champers has something very special working for it in its favour.

It’s simply a bloody beautiful shade that would suit every skintone.

It’s described as a rose-gold metallic shimmer…. and in my opinion, pushes the description boundaries a little with the “rose gold”. I don’t think it’s quite warm enough to qualify and has a subtle silver flash that contradicts the overall impression… of course, this is great if you struggle with warmer tones against your skin but I just wouldn’t quite put this one into the obvious rose gold category.

Especially not when you compare it to something like Butter London’s incredibly beautiful pink/gold combo that is Rosie Lee for example.

Application was good and the polish needed a maximum of three coats to achieve full opacity and removal was generously easy considering the micro particles of shimmer that run through the shade.

Butter London Champers is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online from www.powderrooms.com

* press sample

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I don’t know if this is an unusual blogger trait, I’m willing to bet that it isn’t. But I have a confessionary secret stash and it’s not of makeup.

Oh no, it’s far sadder than that… it’s a secret stash of photographs of makeup. You see, the thing about us hard-boiled bloggers is that we often struggle to physically open and use makeup before we’ve documented it for prosperity. I’ve bought some true beauties in the past that have sat for months, untouched… pristine… my fingers aching to prise open the casing and daub the contents over my face. But I’ve resisted. All because I haven’t gotten around to photographing it for the blog.

And so today, I’m delving into my stash of photographs for an oldie-but-goodie. The other problem with hoarding makeup (and photographs of makeup) is that by the time you get around to blogging about them, they’re often discontinued.

But in today’s case… this may be no bad thing, because it also means…

BARGAIN. When was the last time you saw an Edward Bess eyeshadow for £6.99 inc. postage? Let me tell you, as happy as I am for your bank account… I’m crying for mine.

A pretty neutral with a shot of ethereal silver flashing through its veins. It applies as smoothly as you’d expect from the premium U.S. brand and works beautifully as an allover one-shade choice for fraught Monday mornings.

Where did I spot this bargain of bargains? Well, on the ‘bay of course! Don’t feel too sorry for me paying full whack, I’ve spotted that the same seller also has another EB shadow that I’ve got my eye on, I may yet make it up to myself!

Are you happy to buy discontinued products from eBay (with a bit of homework) orare you too scared of fakes and fungal infections from out of date cosmetics?

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I’ve blogged about Jo Malone’s wonderful gardens before, their charity initiative that encourages marginalised communities to build and maintain beautiful, scented gardens. The brand collaborate with dedicated charities to harness the power of gardening in an effort to improve the lives of those living in vulnerable situations; normally due to the isolation that comes with mental ill health, addiction, poverty or disability.

The initiative also encourages brand involvement with volunteers from Jo Malone themselves, be it head office staff or boutique stylists, many of whom who are more than happy to swap skills and lend a hand to get the gardens up to scratch!

Following on from the successes of the original Old English Garden in London and the Gil Hodges Community Garden in New York, the brand are due to open two more green spaces in Liverpool and Edinburgh on the 1st July and a further garden in Bristol next year.

To help support this initiative, all proceeds from the new Limited Edition Silk Blossom Home Candle – a fragrance described as Apricot-fresh with a touch of spice – will go to supporting the charity gardens nationwide.

If you needed an excuse to indulge in some home-scenting, the new Jo Malone London Limited Edition Silk Blossom Candle (and Cologne) is available to buy online now, priced at £42.00

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I’m nothing if not eternally late to the party. Not in a fashionable manner you understand, more of an “everyone’s gone home now” kinda way.

Incase you hadn’t guessed, this is my first A-England polish purchase. The reason that I didn’t jump on the wagon a couple of years ago was down to an honest fear of not being able to control my spends. Infact, even now… hype long-gone, I can still feel the pull back to the website for more. MOAR I tell you!

Ascalon is an understated holographic, understated in a prettily scattered way. Infact, as a bonafide holo-whore… my favourite thing about this shade is more to do with the lilac duochrome that flashes across the nail bed and not the holographic effect at all. Application was nice and smooth, happily complete in two coats.

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